How to catch Arceus and add it to your team

Capture the Pokémon god that sent you to ancient Sinnoh.

At the beginning of Pokémon Legends: Arceus, our avatars were sent back in time to the Hisui region by some all-powerful creature named Arceus. In the Pokémon universe, this is the being who created Sinnoh and is considered a god. However, it is still a Pokémon, so you can catch it if you prove yourself worthy. That’s no easy feat, but it is very doable.

Pokémon Legends: Catching Arceus

Requirements for unlocking Arceus
How to battle and catch Arceus

Requirements for unlocking Arceus

As with most Pokémon games, you have to work really hard before unlocking the ultimate Mythical Pokémon. To capture the titular creature in Pokémon Legends: Arceus, you need to do three things:

Beat the main game and have the credits roll.
Gather all hidden plates and beat Giratina.
Catch all 240 Pokémon in the game. This doesn’t include Darkrai or Shaymin. Additionally, you don’t have to get each Pokédex entry to level 10; just catch them all.

How to battle and catch Arceus Mission 27: The Deified Pokémon

Talk to Professor Laventon to let him know you’ve completed your Pokédex.
He’ll give you a new Mission and tell you to head to the Temple of Sinnoh, located on Mount Coronet.
I highly recommend you switch to manual saves if you haven’t done so yet and save before starting the battle. That way if something goes wrong you can restart the game and attempt to catch it again.
Get to the platform where you fought Dialga and Palkia before and press the A button to play the Azure Flute.
A scene will play, allowing you to see Arceus.
Now you have to fight Arceus, which is at level 75. This battle is akin to the frenzied noble Pokemon battles where you will need to chuck balms while dodging its attacks. This is a very long four-phase battle, so prepare yourself accordingly with plenty of potions and items.
Every now and then you’ll knock it out and can send in one of your Pokémon to battle it. This Arceus is Normal-type, so Rock, Ghost, and Steel moves will take it out faster.
Once you’ve beaten Arceus in battle, it will join your team without you needing to throw any Poké Balls.

Almighty Arceus

Now that you’ve added Arceus to your team, you can use it to travel around the Hisui region and take on other Pokémon. If nothing else, it’s fun to show it off by taking it out of its Poké Ball or taking pictures with it in Jubilife Village.